Stocks to Watch: AZO, BIG, BAX & More

Peter Schacknow

Tuesday, 4 Dec 2012 | 7:48 AM ETCNBC.com

SHARES

Take a look at some of Tuesday's morning movers:

Autozone - The auto parts retailer reported quarterly profit of $5.41 per share, two cents above estimates, with revenues essentially in line. Same-store sales increased by just 0.2 percent from a year earlier, however, and the company said it's still seeing weakness in certain regions.

BigLots - The retailer reported a quarterly loss of $0.10 per share, smaller than the $0.24 loss analysts were predicting. It also raised its full-year forecast, putting it above analysts' estimates, as it increases its emphasis on consumable goods.

Baxter - The medical products company is buying privately held Gambro of Sweden for $4 billion, giving it an increased presence in the kidney dialysis market.

AutoNation - The auto retailer is buying six dealerships in Texas representing about $575 million in annual revenue. Separately, the company reported new vehicle sales were up 21 percent in November compared to the same month a year ago.

Oracle - Oracle will accelerate its fiscal 2013 dividends payments for the second, third, and fourth quarters into this month. It joins the list of companies accelerating payouts or issuing special dividends in advance of anticipated higher dividend and capital gains tax rates in the new year.

Sonic Automotive - Sonic is moving a dividend payout into 2012, as well, and will now pay its originally scheduled Jan. 15 dividend to Dec. 14.

QAD - QAD has declared a one-time cash dividend of $0.288 per share for its class A common and $0.24 per share for its class B common on Dec. 28 to shareholders of record on Dec. 18. QAD is a provider of enterprise software.

CDI - CDI will accelerate its March dividend payment of $0.13 per share into December, scheduling the payout on Dec. 26 for shareholders of record on Dec. 14. CDI is a technology services firm.

PetMedExpress - PetMed has declared a special dividend of $1 per share, payable on Dec. 24 to shareholders of record on Dec. 14. PetMed is the nation's largest pet pharmacy.

PepBoys - The company reported a profit of $0.13 per share, excluding certain items, for its third quarter. That's two cents below estimates, with the auto parts retailer's sales falling below estimates, as well. PepBoys cites mild weather, a consumer spending slowdown, and business execution problems for its latest results, but says changes should result in better performance in coming quarters.

MetroPCS - Reuters reports Sprint Nextel is unlikely to make a counteroffer for the mobile services provider. MetroPCS has agreed to be taken over by Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA unit, while Sprint is in the midst off initializing its deal to sell an up to 70 percent stake to Japan's Softbank.

Knight Capital Group - Knight could be the target of an updated bid from Virtu Financial, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that Cerberus Capital is in talks to join Virtu's current overture for Knight. Virtu and Getco both have bids on the table for the trading firm.

IAC/InterActiveCorp. - IAC was downgraded to "sell" from "neutral" by Goldman Sachs, citing increasing competition in the search category.